Nov. 06 wedding ideas

[jcrow]

another option at that venue, is an outside reception in the courtyard. right now there is a tent up for the cold weather. if the weather is nice, we wouldn't need the tent. if it's cold or rainy we would be able to have it. if needed, they'll also provide the heaters. here's the tent- it's left from a party last night for 100 guests- the same number we'll probably have. looks like they had it set up with the food in the center, and a bar to the right. this is a shot looking back at the building.

we wouldn't have these plastic chairs. we would have the golden chairs shown in the banquet room pic.

and i guess they had part of a dance floor?? if we wanted, we can also request a dance floor- either the black & white one like this, or the wood one.

the floral arrangements in the center- they would not be there. but, the urns on the sides (there are four) are for our use. the lady said that ferns would look wonderful in them.

 

[jcrow]

this is the ceiling in the tent. i guess we could configure something cool to hang??

 

[jcrow]

here''s the fountain in front of where the tent is- it''s between the building and the tent. again, it''s decorated for xmas. it would be plain for the wedding. i was thinking white candles around the ledge.

 

[jcrow]

ok - last of the pics. here''s an example of the tent inside the courtyard. if you walk along this side-of-the-tent path, it leads to the restrooms.

 

[jcrow]

so- i guess our big question is which place to have the reception??

keep in mind that it will be a mid nov. wedding. it should be getting dark around 5 PM. the reception should end around 6 or so. i was thinking candles would be nice outside. but, i guess we could use them inside too, and just dim the lights?

i think the walls upstairs would make a nice color backdrop for the pics. but the outside is nice too. i haven't seen the outside space without the tent yet, but i'm sure it's a nice new orleans courtyard feel. and the tent space is nice too.

any ideas/thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[jcrow]

anyone?

 

[Caribou]

I have always loved outdoor weddings and/or receptions so I''d go for the tent reception. When is the date? Maybe they will have Christmas decorations up? Or maybe you could request them to hang christmas lights up for added ambiance when it gets darker. Candles are also a great idea, if they allow them in the tents.

Of course, I think both places you showed us are great. Where are you from? Does it get really cold in November? I''m in MI and most likely wouldn''t be able to do an outdoor type wedding, unless early November. Hopefully you have mild Novembers....regardless where you have the reception.

 

[jcrow]

i live in louisiana. this nov. it was warm. but i don''t think that''s the norm. i don''t think it''ll be freezing though- at least i hope not. the wedding will be mid-novmeber- the weekend before thanksgiving.

 

[Tybee]

I LOVE the tent.
LOVE it.
It should be perfect in Lousiana in November, don''t you think?

 

[jcrow]

Date: 12/20/2005 2:50:32 PM
Author: Tybee
I LOVE the tent.
LOVE it.

any reasons? - just trying to figure out my pro and con list.

 

[Tybee]

Maybe it''s the fountain, and the image of white candles or white lights around it.
There''s something romantic about a tent to me, can''t explain it. It seems so very "weddingie."

 

[jcrow]

ok- fair enough. thanks!

 

[jcrow]

thought i''d bump in case some others have ideas/opinions on which area to have the reception at & decorations...

 

[selflove]

Hi jcrow!

I think both are really nice venues. Both have a look of elegance but I think with the tent you have more of a "bare slate" to work with to mold it to your vision. The indoor venue will have less flexibility for your own design/decor. Both would be great for candlelight but you''ll only have about 1 hour of darkness, right? I love the fountain and you could put floating candles in there or votives around the edges.

If it were me, I''d go for the indoor. I guess I choose indoor b/c there''s less to do with decorating (so less time and money spent), I like the bar area, you just never know what the weather will bring and I''m usually cold even when it''s 80 degrees so I''d be concerned about that.

Really, both spaces look great so you can''t make a wrong decision here, it''s just your preference.

 

[jcrow]

thanks self. i keep wobbling back and forth.

i think now i am thinking indoors and doing a sit-down dinner. i like that the space already has character and color- yes much less money to spend decorating.

the way the room is, if we do a sit-down dinner, we can close off the bar & dancing rooms during dinner. after tables clear, the doors can open for a sorta suprise - for dinner and drinking. course- i am new to this sit-down dinner thing- so maybe this might not work??

 

[JCJD]

I really really don't mean to rain on your parade, especially after my response to your dinner thread, but are you going to have children at your wedding? If so, candles within child's reach is a very dangerous idea! (I've only been married 6 months, don't plan on having kids for a few years, and my stinking maternal instincts are going wacko on me!!

).

Oh yeah, and I love both spaces! I think your choice will depend on the "feel" you want for the reception. A bit more airy, relaxed, in the tent, very cool and classy in the banquet room, but very elegant either way.

 

[jcrow]

good point.

there may only be 2 kids at our wedding. with their parents there. hopefully all will be ok.

 

[JCJD]

Whew! Crisis (in my mind at least) averted!

 

[jcrow]

yeh- the lack of kids is kinda cool. we may have a few pre-teens. that''s about it.
that''s another reason i thought it''d be cool to have it upstairs in the formal room with a sit down dinner and live band.

 

[kbarn21]

OK, so I am a little late in the thread to be responding to the issue of a seated or buffet style meal...but here goes...

I''m a catering manager for Marriott....this is what I do ALL DAY LONG! They style of the meal shoule reflect the formality of your wedding. Based on what I have seen (dress, church, etc.) I would go with a plated meal verses a buffet. To me a buffet is a little on the casual side. If you are watching your expenses the plated meal is usually going to cost less since the caterer can better manage food ammount and cost. If you are worried about pleasing everyone palates...consider a dual entree or possibly having your meal served a la carte (the guest would be given an entree option when their salad is served).

As far as the candles go, I think they would be lovely, but should be placed in another area. More than likely people will gather around that fountain to talk and even though it''s the ledge of a fountain, someone will sit on it and others will follow. Also, if you are serving alcohol an open flame could be dangerous.....

Hope this helps a little! Good luck!

 

[jcrow]

thanks kbarn21!

if we have a seated dinner, i was thinking that i would have a salad and an entree, that''s it (besides hor d''oreves (SP?) for cocktail hour).
i think it would be cheaper in this case because if we did food stations, then we''d have more food prepared.

here is my other thread about seated vs. buffet (though you may have already read)

 

[jcrow]

i think we are now leaning towards having the reception indoors. it seems cozier and a bit more elegant. it would also require less decorating, i think.

 

[eks6426]

Jcrow--

Your church, possible dress & reception areas all look beautiful.

Here''s my $.02

On the church flowers--the church is so beautiful and ornate it needs very little. It doesn''t even really need pew bows. You might consider putting them only on the first couple of pews where immediate family would sit. On flowers in general, peonies will be really hard to get & be expensive in November. You might want to consider more all season or fall flowers. I could see pinky-peachy roses with maybe some metallic bronze accents (to go with your mocha dresses). Dried hydrangeas could be a pretty addition and keeping with the fall idea.

Reception location...inside really has very nice detailing. It''s not too many people who have access to an inside place with such character. The tent, although pretty, is something that is common for weddings across the country. If I were you, I''d consider having your "meet & greet" time done on the patio (no tent) with maybe drinks & h''orderves. Then move inside for your formal sit down meal & dancing.

The candles around the fountain sound cool--but the ledge sitting might be a problem. How about floating candles instead?

Let us know what you decide. They all look great!

 

[jcrow]

Date: 12/28/2005 12:15:11 PM
Author: IslandDreams
Jcrow--
Your church, possible dress & reception areas all look beautiful.

Here''s my $.02

On the church flowers--the church is so beautiful and ornate it needs very little. It doesn''t even really need pew bows. You might consider putting them only on the first couple of pews where immediate family would sit. On flowers in general, peonies will be really hard to get & be expensive in November. You might want to consider more all season or fall flowers. I could see pinky-peachy roses with maybe some metallic bronze accents (to go with your mocha dresses). Dried hydrangeas could be a pretty addition and keeping with the fall idea.

Reception location...inside really has very nice detailing. It''s not too many people who have access to an inside place with such character. The tent, although pretty, is something that is common for weddings across the country. If I were you, I''d consider having your ''meet & greet'' time done on the patio (no tent) with maybe drinks & h''orderves. Then move inside for your formal sit down meal & dancing.

The candles around the fountain sound cool--but the ledge sitting might be a problem. How about floating candles instead?

Let us know what you decide. They all look great!

wow- you brought up some great thoughts and options! thanks.

i really like the idea of cocktail hour outside in the courtyard! oh wait, hum, i guess that would mean an extra bar to be set up out there?

i agree with the minimal church decor. i think i might be nixing the pew end flowers and just doing wreaths on the outer doors of the church. my soon to be sister-in-law thought i could even do fake wreaths and give one to each of the families (his and mine) to keep.
but, then again i like the idea of the first pews reserved with flowers. but if we don''t. do you think people generally already know not to sit there? or not?

the fountain outside at the reception place- although not seen in the pics, it has a couple of benches around it, therefore, people probably wouldn''t sit on the ledge. plus if we abundantly place candles there, people can''t sit to begin with. however- we are leaning towards having the reception indoors- which alleviates the issue.

 

[gingerBcookie]

First of all, your church is GORGEOUS. I think minimal decor and flowers markingthe family pews is all that is needed. Willl you be having ushers? If yes, they will be escorting people so no worries. If not, will you be having house party to greet the guests? They can just mention as people come that the pews with flowers are reserved.

Second of all that dress is GORGEOUS on you...the dropped waist (which I love love love that look) is so flattering on you! I could not tell from the pic that you were 5''0. A lot of mag say that petite girls should not wer ball gowns or dropped waist dresses, but you TOTALLY destroyed that theory. Good luck with your dress hunt in Houston...there really are tons of places. Feel free to pm me or call me if you have any questions about any of the shops I posted on the other thread. Oh, I had forgotten, there was one more place -- Ventura''s Bridal, which I believe sells Moonlight. http://www.venturasbridal.com/intro.htm .
713.880.2364
102 North Loop at Yale
Houston, Texas 77008
Huge selection, pushy sales person, no frills place.


Third of all, you reception place is FABOLOUS! You are so lucky that you found such a great space that is so flexible! I love tent weddings for the blank slate aspect, but it would definitely up the cost factor as far as decor goes, so since you are leaning towards the indoor reception, I second the motion for the courtyard cocktail hour. As far as seating, I think a few benches are fine, the idea is for people to be moving around and mingling right? Do a few "cocktail" tables -- the small tall round ones where people stand around them and use it to hold food and drinks. Just use colored linens and candles on those if you want to keep costs down. I think candles on the ledge of the fountain and floating candles would be lovely. I would trust the judgement of your guests to not sit down on a burning flame.

 

[MissCongeniality]

the church is GORGEOUS. omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i think the reception venue is fantastic.

great taste, jcrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jcrow]

ginger- thanks so much for all of your kind words! and for all of your dress shops help!

it is a lot of dress! however, i just felt that the dropped waist and box pleats and full skirt just made my waist look divine. i think i have a weird figure. my waist can look very straight with no definition depending on what i have on. i just found that those dropped waists were perfect for me. and to balence out the full skirt and all that material, i am trying to go plain for the other details. i am steering clear of all those sequined, buggle beaded bodices and skirts. i just find they can overwhelm me easily.

 

[jcrow]

reception update:

FI and his SIL and i went to the reception site last night for dinner. he hadn''t seen the inside of the restaurant. she had come into town for the night, so we went out to eat. After we ate we went upstairs to see the rooms we would use for our reception. one of the managers should us around. well, he mentioned that the large room holds about 60 people!! oh no! we are anticipating 100. so i need to check on that. other than that FI and soon to be SIL loved the place.

 

[eks6426]

Yikes--if inside only holds 60 and you expect 100, I guess you''ll have to go the tent route. There''s no way you can squeeze in that many extras. Is there any place else that is similar that will hold more people? If you do a tent, would it be warm enough to do a tent without sides--then you could draw on the garden area around the patio as part of your decor?

 

[jcrow]

well FI and i just went for another meeting with the lady at the reception venue. we voiced our concerns about 100 people fitting upstairs. sounded like it wouldn''t be a problem only if the meal was not a seated dinner. so, now i think we are looking at the tent location for the reception.

she is getting a proposal to us comparing the price of the sit-down meal versus the buffet.

we also thought that maybe since we liked the indoors location so much we could have the rehearsal dinner in those rooms and having the wedding the following night outside in the garden-courtyard-tent area.

i didn''t know this before, but it looks like they also provide table decorations- white pillar candles in large glasses along with greenery on the tables.

also- inside the tent, i thought that it was our duty to put arrangements in the 4 large urns. nope- they will have large ferns already in there! Whoo hoo! less expense for us!

and, if we ***cross your fingers*** are lucky, they may have their large chandelier in by next nov. to hang in the center of the tent. that would also mean less money for us! we were going to do a hanging arragement there.

IslandDreams- the tent comes with 4-6 chrome heaters free-of-charge if we need them for cold weather. maybe though we''ll luck out and not need them. nov. of 2005 we wouldn''t have needed them- that''s for sure!!